mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (07/31/90)
I travelled back east last week to visit family in the Chicago area. My parents had just moved out of the city to a small town about 90 miles west of Chicago, along the Rock River. They have a large house on about a half acre with five feeders hanging in the back. I was somewhat surprised at the diversity of species that visited their feeders. Black Capped Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatch, and House Finch seemed to be there constantly; while consistent, but less often, appearances were made by House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Chipping Sparrow, Red Winged Blackbird, and Downy Woodpecker. The woodpecker usually spent its time at the suet, but would also visit the feeder with the peanuts on occasion. Every once in a while a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird would visit the nectar feeder. Found foraging on the ground under the feeders were Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, American Robin, Brown Headed Cowbird, and Common Grackle. Though not visiting the feeders, Red Headed Woodpecker and Eastern Wood Pewee could be found in the trees in the yard. Quite an assortment for a backyard. A short walk from the house to the river or woods produced more interesting birds. Song Sparrows inhabited the river's edge while Belted Kingfisher, Northern Rough Winged, Bank, and Barn Swallows constantly flew over it. The woods seemed to be full of Gray Catbirds. They were everywhere. Also Northern Flicker, House Wren, Cedar Waxwing, Warbling Vireo, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Bluebird, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Field Sparrow, and Brown Thrasher could be found. On Thursday my two brothers, my nephew, and I went to a forest preserve in the outskirts of Chicago. In this forest preserve was a large field where my brothers had found Henslow's Sparrow a couple of years ago. Our mission on this day was to find it again so that I could add it to my life list. As we started walking through the field, we immediately began flushing birds. Song Sparrows. Large numbers of Song Sparrows. We had to check them all out, just to be sure. It made the mission that much tougher. We also found a few Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks. The meadowlarks were no problem; we didn't even need our binoculars to dismiss them. As time dragged on, we took a break to check out a small pond near the field where we found Canada Geese, Black Crowned Night Heron, and a Solitary Sandpiper. Then it was back to the field. Red Tailed Hawks and an American Kestrel hunted over it. We trudged through it for three hours, finally heading back towards the car. As we neared the end of the field, a Savannah Sparrow popped up. A new bird, and a lifer for my brother. Then, within a couple more yards, a bird flushed, flew, and landed within sight. A look through the scope confirmed it as the Henslow's we had been trying to find for so long. As we continued towards the car, the bird flushed a few more times, and we obtained excellent close-up looks. That evening, when we got home, we discovered another denizen of the field; one that we hadn't counted on finding, chiggers! Oh well, small price to pay, I say. After the field, we stopped by my sister's house along the Fox River. A walk down by the river brought us Ring Billed Gull, Hooded Merganser, Red Eyed Vireo, Willow Flycatcher, Swamp Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, and Northern Oriole. We finished up the day with Chimney Swift and Common nighthawk. On the day before I left, my brother and I took one last walk in a nearby bird sanctuary. As we walked along a path in the woods, I could hear a bird singing in the distance. It sounded a whole lot like a thrush, but not like the familiar Hermit or Swainson's. I assumed that it had to be a Wood Thrush; another life bird for me. I immediately went after it. The song was coming from an area right next to the road, but as I approached the spot, the singing stopped. I stood and stared into the dense woods, trying to catch a glimpse of some movement. Nothing. I moved away and, before I got twenty yards, the singing started again. I approached; the singing stopped. I moved away; the singing started. This see-saw battle continued for about forty five minutes when, after approaching and staring into the trees for some minutes, a bird came flying out of the foliage directly at me and landed on a branch about twenty five feet away. It didn't stay there more than five or six seconds, but the eye-filling view through the binoculars told me everything I needed to know. Reddish-brown head and upper back, bold eye ring, and large dark spots down the white breast and belly. Chalk up another lifer. We wandered along the paths as a storm building to the west announced its presence with thunder and lightning. A Purple Martin flew over as we were serenaded by the incessant singing of the Field Sparrows. I remarked how their song was similar to the Black Chinned Sparrow and wondered if they were the same genus. A check of the field guide showed them both to be spizella. I knew that the storm would bring only a brief respite from the muggy weather that we had experienced all week. In fact, the weather had been an obvious reminder of one of the main reasons that I had left the area in the first place. But I knew that family and birding would always bring me back. Mike